Make a Dad Out of You
by Tabbyluna
Summary: Parenting is hard. But somehow you'll make it through.


To be a manly man, Terrafin knew that he needed to be many things all at once. He needed to swift, forceful, strong, and mysterious. A disciplined fighter, a stoic soldier. Truth be told, he liked being a tough, formidable force against enemies. Most of the men (and to be honest, the women) he knew in his life did too. They were warriors, all of them. Protecting the Skylands from any evil force that threatens its safety. It felt great to be needed in that way.

But if he were to be honest, a lot of what made him a great field agent also made it difficult for him to train the Minis. Master Eon had briefed them all on how to approach training and caring for those younger than themselves, and after a few sessions, he decided that being a guardian over a smaller, younger thing was something he wasn't great at. It required a ton of patience, attention to detail, and the ability to tactfully tell someone how they could improve themselves. Terrafin knew only two things: how to punch hard, and how to punch fast. Punching required neither patience nor tact, hence he had never bothered to try to improve himself in those regards.

Still a part of him wanted to improve, if only for little Terrabite's sake. He knew the effect a father can have on a child. His own Dad was the toughest, boldest dirt shark ever. At least that was what he thought, growing up. When he was little, Pops would always bring him out to watch him while he worked, digging trenches with other equally beefy men. The didn't have much in those days. Trench diggers didn't have especially large salaries. But they had each other. His Dad was both a role model and a great teacher, teaching Terrafin everything he knew about being a man today. From techniques on how to work out, to how to treat people right. His guidance was more than enough to make him the fierce, feisty fighter he is today.

That evening, he called his father on his cellphone. For their birthday, for the two men coincidentally shared a birthday, Terrafin decided to give them both a cellphone each so that they could finally keep in touch with each other. They were both busy people. But they usually found the time to talk at least once a month. It was that time of the month again, so he decided that it was time to get some teaching techniques from his father. Finally he could help his ward (Could Terrabite count as his son? That was a question he frequently asked himself.) with his training.

He had been eating dinner with his work buddies after a long day of hard work. No matter how many times Terrafin tried to talk him into it, the older man simply would not retire. They were proud men, both of them, and as long as they weren't down and out, they'd keep fighting no matter what.

"Now? Now you listen to me?" He joked. In the background, Terrafin could hear the laughter of his father's colleagues. It's been years since they saw each other, and they still joked about his stubbornness as a child. Despite the joke made at his expense, Terrafin couldn't help but smirk along.

"Real funny, Pops. But for real, you know that kid I keep talking to you about? That Mini, Terrabite?" Terrafin leaned further into the pillow on his bed, and looked up towards the ceiling. He brought his free arm behind him and stretched out, finally relaxing.

"Ah yes, my grandson. How is he by the way?" The men made another excited sound. A sign that they had all been drinking beer that night. Pops was blessed with strong resistance against the effects of alcohol, but unfortunately his friends were not gifted in the same way. They were a rowdy bunch when they got drunk. Prone to making loud noises and large clumsy movements. Though thankfully they rarely grew violent.

"He's doing fine. Biting everything that moves. But here's the thing, Pops. I need a little advice. I need to know how I can parent him better." He sat up, stretching himself as he straightened his posture. "Right now he's growing stronger by the day, but, well, I dunno Pops. Am I doing this parenting thing right?"

"Son, what do you mean by that? You aren't forcing him to sleep on glass shards, are you?" Laughter erupted from is friends behind him, and even Terrafin had to stifle a chuckle at his quip. Damn it Pops, why'd you have to be so funny?

"Well, obviously not. The thing is, I don't think I'm being very gentle with him. I see all the things my teammates do with their Minis all the time. They play with them, read to them, cook them meals. While I just sort of let Terrabite hang around me. I train him, bring him out to the beach, eat meals with him, all that jazz. I'm just not, I guess very tender with him. I guess what I wanna ask is, am I doing parenting right?"

For a while, there was a moment of silence on the other side. Not even his friends made any noise; they probably all left to pay up or use the bathroom. Terrafin waited. He knew his father liked to consider his words carefully. When he's ready to talk, he would talk. That was something he was used to, waiting for a response out of his father.

"Son, did I ever tell you what I did after you were born?" Terrafin raised an eyebrow. Where was he going with this?

"After you were born, what I did was that I went to every library on the island, and I asked for every book I could get about how to parent a baby boy. They told me to coddle you, to clean up all your licks, to pick you up whenever you tripped and fell down. But you know what kind of kid you ended up being?"

"The complete opposite, right?"

"Exactly." There was another short, silent pause. He awaited his father's response. "You see Terrafin, parenting is hard because the whole thing is trial and error. There are infinite types of children out in the world, and what a parent's job is, is figuring out how they can help their child grow up to be the best person they can be. Now, obviously you should seek out second opinions. I'm glad you called me for this reason. But my only advice to you is that you gotta look at what sort of kid Terrabite is. Is he the type that would benefit from all that tenderness you keep talking about? Or do you think he needs someone that would let him take on the world by himself?"

Terrafin grinned. "I guess he's a lot like the two of us, huh?"

"That's your call. You're his guardian after all. Make sure he's not touch starved. And obviously try to hug him if you can. Just make sure he's the type of little guy to like hugs, that's all." He heard a wave of chuckles from behind him. His friends must have returned from the bathroom. "I gotta try to visit you two one of these days. It's time I meet the little guy, honestly."

Terrafin smiled, and got himself off his bed. He stretch his legs and looked out the window, somewhat satisfied with the answer he got. "Yeah, I think I'll see you when the time comes, Pops. That'll be great."


End file.
